ID card order in Delhi to hit Biharis most: Nitish
Delhi Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna’s order making it mandatory for the people travelling in the Capital to carry identity proofs has snowballed into a major controversy, with parties resisting the move stating it is “unconstitutional.”
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: Delhi Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna’s order making it mandatory for the people travelling in the Capital to carry identity proofs has snowballed into a major controversy, with parties resisting the move stating it is “unconstitutional.”
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, demanding that the order be revoked as it “tampered” with the basic rights granted to the citizens of India, and would only end up making things difficult for the people hailing from Bihar.
The Bihar CM was constrained to make his position clear on the issue as he was wary of its fallout on the lives of the migrants from his home state who, together with the people hailing from eastern UP, comprise almost a third of the total population of Delhi.
While the Congress, which was caught unawares by the order, remained tight-lipped, Opposition parties pounced on the ruling UPA on the issue. And, for a change, even the Congress’ alliance partners refused to bail it out.
“You’ll appreciate that in our constitutional scheme of things, there is no barrier on the movement of people across states within the country,” Mr Kumar wrote in his three-page letter addressed to the PM. “While the Constitution accords special status on the state of Jammu and Kashmir, people of India are free to move around in the country, migrate or settle down in any part they wish to and establish their source of livelihood,” he said.
The state of Delhi, he pointed out, had a large number of migrants and wage-earners, apart from persons coming from the rest of India as employees of various organisations, residents and a big chunk of floating population. “The insistence on photo I-cards issued by the government, semi-government or private institutions would hit the poor, the illiterate, the migrants and the daily wage-earners the most,’’ Mr Kumar argued.
He suspected that the government was trying to cover up its failures on the internal security front by taking refuge behind the move. “I suspect that the failures on the police and internal security fronts are being covered up in the name of security, and there is an attempt to turn Delhi into a police-state,” he said.
and added the Centre should take lessons from the experiences of neighbouring countries.
He also took exception to the proposals on the re-validation of driving licences issued outside the Capital. “The Motor Vehicles Act talks of the issuance of driving licences, and licence issued by any competent authority in India is valid throughout the country. The new idea is obnoxious and abhorrent, and will further cause harassment and resentment among those who come to the Capital from outside,” Mr Kumar said.
He also sought to link the issue with the contempt with which the people of Bihar were held by a section of the Capital’s elite. “I note that there is a growing tendency among the higher-ups in Delhi to ridicule Biharis, to ignore their contribution and to get rid of them. This whole exercise appears to be part of such a sinister design,” he maintained.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, demanding that the order be revoked as it “tampered” with the basic rights granted to the citizens of India, and would only end up making things difficult for the people hailing from Bihar.
The Bihar CM was constrained to make his position clear on the issue as he was wary of its fallout on the lives of the migrants from his home state who, together with the people hailing from eastern UP, comprise almost a third of the total population of Delhi.
While the Congress, which was caught unawares by the order, remained tight-lipped, Opposition parties pounced on the ruling UPA on the issue. And, for a change, even the Congress’ alliance partners refused to bail it out.
“You’ll appreciate that in our constitutional scheme of things, there is no barrier on the movement of people across states within the country,” Mr Kumar wrote in his three-page letter addressed to the PM. “While the Constitution accords special status on the state of Jammu and Kashmir, people of India are free to move around in the country, migrate or settle down in any part they wish to and establish their source of livelihood,” he said.
The state of Delhi, he pointed out, had a large number of migrants and wage-earners, apart from persons coming from the rest of India as employees of various organisations, residents and a big chunk of floating population. “The insistence on photo I-cards issued by the government, semi-government or private institutions would hit the poor, the illiterate, the migrants and the daily wage-earners the most,’’ Mr Kumar argued.
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“In the name of security, we cannot play around with the citizens’ liberties, their rights and the Constitution,” the JD(U) leader said. He suspected that the government was trying to cover up its failures on the internal security front by taking refuge behind the move. “I suspect that the failures on the police and internal security fronts are being covered up in the name of security, and there is an attempt to turn Delhi into a police-state,” he said.
and added the Centre should take lessons from the experiences of neighbouring countries.
He also took exception to the proposals on the re-validation of driving licences issued outside the Capital. “The Motor Vehicles Act talks of the issuance of driving licences, and licence issued by any competent authority in India is valid throughout the country. The new idea is obnoxious and abhorrent, and will further cause harassment and resentment among those who come to the Capital from outside,” Mr Kumar said.
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The Bihar CM also felt that the order would raise the spectre of frauds. “Ultimately, it’ll only be the law-abiding, the common, poor people and the migrants who’ll have to bear the brunt,” Mr Kumar asserted.He also sought to link the issue with the contempt with which the people of Bihar were held by a section of the Capital’s elite. “I note that there is a growing tendency among the higher-ups in Delhi to ridicule Biharis, to ignore their contribution and to get rid of them. This whole exercise appears to be part of such a sinister design,” he maintained.
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